Department for Communities and Local Government

Social Rented Housing: Rents

lord beecham: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what they estimate the amount of lost income will be to (1) local authorities, and (2) housing associations, by 2020, as a result of the cumulative effect of the annual one per cent reduction in social housing rents.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: The fiscal impact of the social rent reduction policy on public finances was included as part of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s policy costings for Budget 2015 which can be found on page 53 of the attached annex, Summer Budget 2015: Policy Costings.In September 2015 the Department for Communities and Local Government carried out an impact assessment of the effect of the social rent reduction policy on housing associations which can be found on page 4 of the attached annex, Welfare Reform and Work Bill: Impact Assessment of Social Rent Reductions.



HL5382 - Impact Assessment
(PDF Document, 63.82 KB)




Summer budget 
(PDF Document, 1002.21 KB)

Local Government Finance

lord ouseley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the estimate made by the Local Government Association of a £5.8 billion funding gap for local authorities by 2020 in their briefing published on 23 November 2016, what steps they are taking to ensure that local authorities remain able to finance essential public services.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: To provide local government with greater certainty over their income in the medium term, the Government has offered a guaranteed budget for every year of the Parliament. 97 per cent of eligible local authorities have accepted this four year offer and the Government's settlement for local government provides councils with more than £200 billion over the lifetime of this Parliament to support local services.

Social Services: Finance

lord ouseley: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the increased social care precept on the ability of local authorities to provide adult social care.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: If all councils make the maximum use of the additional flexibility the Government has offered, this will raise over £1 billion for adult social care in 2017-18. However the social care precept is only one stream of funding for local government which also includes unhypothecated central grant as well as other local taxes and, for 2017-18, the Adult Social Care Support Grant. It is for local government to determine how best to manage its own finances to ensure it delivers the appropriate level of services for its residents.

Home Office

Tinsley House Immigration Removal Centre: G4S

baroness hamwee: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what procurement process was undertaken by the Home Office before awarding G4S the welfare services provider contract for Tinsley House pre-departure accommodation; whether it was an open tender exercise; what the duration of the contract is; and whether that contract is formally linked to G4S’s contract as custodial provider.

baroness hamwee: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what arrangements are in place to ensure that children staying at Tinsley House pre-departure accommodation are not affected by being held on the same site as a place of detention; and whether, when accessing outdoor play facilities, those children will be protected from seeing and hearing the detention site.

baroness hamwee: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what training and experience G4S staff at Tinsley House pre-departure accommodation have in working with vulnerable children of various nationalities and backgrounds.

baroness williams of trafford: The welfare services contract was awarded after a competitive tender process. On 21 September 2016 a notice was placed in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) to advise any interested suppliers across Europe of the opportunity to bid for the contract for welfare services at Tinsley House. The contract that was awarded to G4S will last for an initial 3 years and can be extended on any number of occasions up to a total of 24 months, subject to a minimum extension period of 3 months on any one occasion. An award notice was placed in the OJEU on 8 February 2017 providing detail on the award to G4S. The contract is not formally linked to G4S’s contract as custodial provider at Tinsley House. The new pre-departure accommodation (PDA) at Tinsley House will use the refurbished existing accommodation for families with children who fall outside the family returns process. It is a discrete unit with a separate entrance, with no interaction between the families accommodated in the PDA and the adult detention population. The outside play area will be screened, and the installation of external louvres and obscured glazing on windows in detainee accommodation will ensure the area is not overlooked.The training requirements for G4S at Tinsley House PDA are equivalent to those for Cedars. As set out in Detention Services Order 19/2012 ‘Detention and Escorting Safeguarding Children policy’, updated in May 2016, all staff working with children receive suitable training, which must be at least equivalent to Tier 1 of the Home Office ‘Keeping Children Safe’.

Islamic State

lord pearson of rannoch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 24 January (HL Deb, col 53), and to her Written Answer on 3 February (HL5216), what assessment they have made of the comments made by the Archbishop of Canterbury in his lecture at the Catholic Institute of Paris on 17 November 2016, that religious people should move away from the argument that ISIS is nothing to do with Islam.

baroness williams of trafford: The Archbishop of Canterbury rightly pointed out during his lecture at the Catholic Institute of Paris on 17 November 2016 that we cannot ignore the fact that Daesh claim their actions in the name of Islam.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Commonwealth Secretariat: Finance

lord chidgey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what UK contribution to the Commonwealth Secretariat budget they made for the years (1) 2010, (2) 2011, (3) 2012, (4) 2013, (5) 2014, (6) 2015, and (7) 2016; and, for each further year for which a budget has been set, what will be the contribution.

baroness anelay of st johns: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office's assessed contributions to the Commonwealth Secretariat have been as follows:2010/2011: £4,840,9362011/2012: £5,168,5862012/2013: £5,262,6542013/2014: £5,326,3312014/2015: £5,455,4842015/2016: £5,469,640

Commonwealth Secretariat: Finance

lord chidgey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government which Government departments are responsible for setting the UK contribution to the Commonwealth Secretariat; on what basis it is set; and what data are used to determine increases or decreases in that contribution.

baroness anelay of st johns: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is responsible for the UK's assessed contribution to the Commonwealth. The UK remains the largest financial contributor to the Commonwealth Secretariat, providing around 32% of the total budget. Financial contributions to the Commonwealth Secretariat's general budget are based on scales agreed at the UN. Under existing Commonwealth guidelines, the budget is shared amongst the membership in accordance with three principles: capacity to pay, equitable burden sharing, and shared ownership and responsibility. This ensures that all members enjoy an equal voice within the organisation.In addition to FCO assessed contributions, the Department for International Development also makes voluntary contributions to the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation, and a number of other Commonwealth programmes.

Commonwealth Secretariat: Finance

lord chidgey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what process of consultation is in place between them and the Commonwealth Secretariat (1) prior to, (2) during, and (3) after, the process of setting the UK budget contribution; and what other parties are consulted.

baroness anelay of st johns: Member State contributions to the Commonwealth Secretariat's general budget are based on scales agreed at the UN, which are then agreed by the Commonwealth's Executive Committee and Board of Governors. The UK is a member of both groups. All Commonwealth countries are represented at the Board of Governors. Through attendance at these meetings we ensure that UK funds are allocated and spent in an efficient and transparent manner.

Commonwealth Secretariat: Finance

lord chidgey: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the latest adjustments to the UK contributions to the Commonwealth Secretariat budget, particularly in relation to the scope and staffing of the Commonwealth Health and Education Unit and the measurement of progress of its work across the Commonwealth.

baroness anelay of st johns: Through projects and programmes, the Commonwealth Secretariat's general budget - to which the UK pays an assessed contribution - is used to deliver outcomes outlined in the Commonwealth Secretariat Strategic Plan. The Strategic Plan will be discussed and approved at the next Board of Governors meetings in March.The UK's assessed contribution does not fund specific projects. The Department for International Development makes voluntary contributions to the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation and a number of Commonwealth programmes.

Department for Transport

Road Traffic

lord hunt of chesterton: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the forecast impact of future road building in both rural and urban areas on traffic congestion, what plans they have to (1) control the number of passenger and goods vehicles over the next decade, and (2) co-ordinate their strategic approach to all aspects of traffic with other European countries and the automobile industry.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The Department for Transport is working towards developing scenarios using the National Transport Model (NTM), to support investment and policy decision-making in the context of the Roads Investment Strategy 2. The scenarios will test various uncertainties in some of the main drivers of road traffic, to ensure road investment decisions are robust against a range of possible futures. However, the Government has no plans to restrict the number of goods vehicles over the next decade. The strategic approach to aspects of traffic does include co-ordination internationally and with the automobile industry, for example about vehicle standards. The Government’s strategic approach to traffic does include how to influence some of the effects of vehicles and levels of traffic, for example as discussed in the recently published Freight Carbon Review.

Department of Health

Out-patients: Attendance

lord hunt of kings heath: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the cost of missed appointments across the NHS, and of the impact of requiring two forms of ID from patients not resident in the UK on this cost.

lord o'shaughnessy: Information on the cost of missed National Health Service appointments is not collected centrally. We welcome trusts piloting schemes whereby they ask NHS patients for two forms of identification to demonstrate their identity and residency status. We will consider further the impact that identification checks have, including the effect on costs identified and recovered from people not eligible for free NHS care.

Food: Safety

baroness jones of whitchurch: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions they have had with the Food Standards Agency concerning its plans to substitute regular food safety inspections with greater self-regulation by business.

lord o'shaughnessy: The Government continues to engage with the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in the development of its strategic regulatory transformation programme, Regulating our Future, which aims to design a tailored and proportionate system of regulation for food and feed in England, Wales and Northern Ireland by 2020 that reflects relative risk, reinforces accountability and delivers more for public health. The FSA’s cross-Government engagement includes working with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, to ensure the future assurance model creates the right regulatory environment for business. The FSA will set the system standards for the new assurance framework to ensure the very highest levels of consumer protection. Robust mechanisms will be in place to verify the integrity of data coming from regulated private assurance.

Abortion

lord shinkwin: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many terminations have been performed under Ground E of the Abortion Act 1967 since it entered into force (1) in total, and (2) by year.

lord shinkwin: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many terminations post-24 weeks’ gestation have been performed since the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 entered into force (1) in total, and (2) by year.

lord shinkwin: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many terminations post-24 weeks’ gestation have been performed under Ground E of the Abortion Act 1967 since the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 entered into force (1) in total, and (2) by year.

lord o'shaughnessy: The Abortion Act 1967 requires that the Chief Medical Officer be legally notified of an abortion within 14 days of the termination. Statistical summaries of this data, which include the Grounds for the termination, are published annually. Statistics for years from 1968 to 1973 were published in the Registrar General’s Statistical Review of England and Wales, Supplement on Abortion. Statistics for years from 1974 to 2001 were published by the Office for National Statistics in its Abortion Statistics Series AB, Numbers 1 to 28. Since 2002, the Department has published an annual series of Abortion Statistics for England and Wales. All are publicly available, but for ease of reference the first three reports identifying abortions from 1991 onwards are attached. Prior to 1991 abortion on the ground of a substantial risk that if the child were born it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped was classified as Section 1(1)(b). The classification of abortions as Ground E (section 1(1)(d) of the Act) was introduced in April 1991. Data on the number of abortions by Ground is included in Table 1 of each of the attached documents. Information on the distribution of all post-24 week abortions and those under Ground E is included in Table D and the supporting text in each of the documents. 



Abortion Statistics 1991
(PDF Document, 472.39 KB)




Abortion Statistics 1992
(PDF Document, 468.9 KB)




Abortion Statistics 1993
(PDF Document, 454.09 KB)

Abortion

lord shinkwin: To ask Her Majesty’s Government by which method the gestation of a foetus is determined before being recorded on the HSA4 abortion notification form.

lord shinkwin: To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they ensure continuity of practice amongst doctors with respect to the method by which the gestation of a foetus is determined before being recorded on the HSA4 abortion notification form.

lord shinkwin: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what proof of a foetus’ gestation is provided alongside the submission of the HSA4 abortion notification form.

lord o'shaughnessy: Ultrasound scanning is commonly used to assess pregnancies in women before they undergo abortion to confirm gestation and identify abnormalities such as ectopic pregnancy or uterine anomalies. In addition, assessment of the date of onset of the last menstrual period, bimanual pelvic examination and abdominal examination may also be used. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists have issued guidance to doctors on termination of pregnancy, The Care of Women Requesting Induced Abortion, which makes recommendations around dating pregnancies, and Termination of Pregnancy for Fetal Abnormality in England, Scotland and Wales. Copies of both documents are attached. Doctors are under a legal obligation to accurately complete the HSA4 form and send it to the Chief Medical Officer, either manually or electronically, within 14 days of the abortion taking place. The form requires information on the gestation of the pregnancy. No additional proof of gestation is required. All abortions and medical conditions over 23 weeks gestation are scrutinised by an independent medical practitioner contracted by the Department. In addition, forms are checked by the Department where there are inconsistencies in gestation and method of abortions and grounds and place of termination. A check is made for gestation by clinic, as some clinics are only authorised to perform abortions up to certain gestations.



The Care of Women Requesting Induced Abortion
(PDF Document, 792.91 KB)




Termination of Pregnancy for Fetal Abnormality
(PDF Document, 1.46 MB)

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

lord freyberg: To ask Her Majesty’s Government, with respect to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, what was the NHS's annual clinical negligence bill for the 2016–17 financial year and what it is projected to be for the 2017–18 financial year; whether any statistical correlations between negligence payments made by NHS Trusts and care quality indicators have been examined; and if so, what are those correlations.

lord freyberg: To ask Her Majesty’s Government with respect to cardiac rhythm management devices, what was the NHS's annual clinical negligence bill for the 2016–17 financial year and what it is projected to be for the 2017–18 financial year; whether any statistical correlations between negligence payments made by NHS Trusts and care quality indicators have been examined; and if so, what are those correlations.

lord o'shaughnessy: Information to answer these questions is not held in this format by either the Department or the NHS Litigation Authority (NHS LA). The NHS LA records information on clinical negligence claims against the National Health Service but it does not record specific information on claims relating to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or cardiac rhythm management devices. It is therefore not possible to provide information on clinical negligence costs relating to these conditions or to provide information on any statistical correlations between negligence payments made by NHS trusts in relation to these conditions and care quality indicators.